Southern Railway to reinstate more than a hundred services

MP supports rail development for access to airport

A MUCH-CRITICISED rail service is to reinstate 119 train services to its timetable next week.

Southern Railway has been running a severely revised timetable for passengers since July due to ‘unprecedented levels of train crew sickness’.

The remaining train services that had been stripped are also set to return over the next few weeks.

Services will be reinstated on all inner-London ‘metro’ services, the Guildford to Leatherhead line, Sutton to Streatham via Wimbledon, the London Bridge to Beckenham Junction and 26 other services on the west London line.

Charles Horton, chief executive of Govia Thameslink (GTR), which runs the operator, said: ‘We know how difficult life has been for our passengers recently and we are sincerely sorry.’

The move from GTR comes after the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union announced a 48-hour strike to take place next week following a long-running row over the role of guards on services.